"Stormterror ... is attacking Mondstadt itself!" Amber exclaimed. "Kaeya, you've come at the right time. We must—"

The brunette was cut off by a short chuckle. "Hold on, Amber," the man—Kaeya—sent a small smirk The Child's way. "Are you perhaps forgetting to introduce us?" he asked.

"Oh ..." Amber blinked, taking a moment to process the captain's words, "right."

Turning to The Child and Paimon, Amber smiled and used her hand to gesture over to the blue-haired man next to her. "This is Kaeya, our Cavalry Captain," she told before turning her attention over to the Calvary Captain himself, this time using her other hand to gesture over to the traveling pair. "Kaeya, these two are travelers from afar, Paimon and ... er ..." Amber seemed hesitant, looking over to The Child unsurely, which in turn earned her a confused look from the small warrior, whose pig-like nose began to twitch.

Kaeya, who had noticed the small action, felt his lips perk up into a smirk out of amusement, and maybe the slightest bit of curiosity.

"Piglet is still yet to choose a name for themself," Paimon explained, using the lack of a crown on The Child's head to rest her arms atop their messy locks of [hair color] hair. "You can just call them 'Piglet' for now."

Kaeya's amused smirk grew, and he hummed. "Piglet, huh?" He chuckled. So they're travelers from afar, and apparently the kid doesn't even have an actual name? Interesting ...

"Long story short," Amber began to speak again, "I found them both walking along the edge of the Whispering Woods outside of Mondstadt. They, uh ..." Amber thought back to the moment where she saw The Child emerge from some bushes and decapitate a hilichurl without any hesitation or fear; back to the moment where she ignored the way she felt over the fact that a child so small could use a blade so well. "Helped me clear out a hilichurl camp, and not long after that, I brought them here."

"Hm ..." Kaeya stared at Amber for a moment, having taken notice of the hesitant tone that had overtaken her words. "I see." Deciding to ask the Outrider about it later, Kaeya directed his attention over the thr traveling duo and smiled to them, to which The Child instantly narrowed their eyes at.

Fake.

"Welcome to Mondstadt—though you haven't arrived at the best of times, I'm afraid." Kaeya glanced up at the dark clouds that had casted their shadows over the city he protected from above. "First and foremost, on behalf of the Knights of Favonius, I would like to extend our thanks to you for your help just now—even if you didn't actually get to do much in the end. Ah, but it's the thought that counts, right?"

The Child remained silent, staring up at Kaeya for but a couple of seconds before suddenly holding their hand out to him. "Reward. Give."

Kaeya blinked, surprised, and both Amber and Paimon looked to The Child in horror.

"P-Piglet!" Paimon cried, placing her hands on both sides of her face. "You can't just say that! That's so rude—"

"Reward. I want."

"Okay, yes, Paimon knows that you want a reward, but you can't just—"

Paimon was cut off by the sound of laughter, which—to hers and Amber's surprise—was coming from Kaeya himself.

"Well," the man placed a hand on his hip, "someone knows what they want, ey?" He gave a short laugh. "Well, I suppose that you do deserve something for your troubles, given that you managed to scare Stormterror away before he could cause anymore damage."

Holding his chin, Kaeya pretended to think. "Hm ... How about a traditional Mondstadt delicacy, Sticky Honey Roast?" he suggested.

Paimon gasped, her eyes suddenly lighting up with excitement as she met The Child's pupil-ess eyes with a grin. "Sticky Honey Roast?!" she questioned, looking back over to Keaya for reassurance.

The blue-haired man chuckled. "Of course. After all, it's what you deserve. Your fight to defend the city against the dragon just now was witnessed by no small number of citizens. The Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius is also very interested in meeting you, and formally invites you both to our headquarters," he told.

"Really?" Paimon shared a glance with The Child. "Well, let's go, then!"

─── ❖ ── ✦ ── ❖ ───

The only thing to fill the silence of the room was the ticking of the clock.

Jean sighed anxiously, once again lifting her eyes to check the time. It had only been but a few minutes since Stormterror's recent attack, yet it felt like Jean had been waiting for hours for Kaeya to come back—hopefully with whoever the brave soul that had managed to scare Stormterror away in toe.

Jean huffed, watching the clock's minute handle move but a mere inch once again as the time passed. The woman felt agitation build up inside of her at that moment, and she took a deep breath before beginning to make her way over to the door, already preparing herself to head out when a familiar voice began to speak up; stopping her in her tracks immediately.

"Jean, what's the hurry?" Lisa closed the book she was reading and turned to the blonde woman behind her with a soft smile gracing her features. "I thought we agreed to meet them here."

Jean sighed again and looked away, feeling her hands curl into clenched fists at her sides. "There have been sightings of Stormterror outside the city. Once we meet, we must—"

"Relax," Lisa chuckled and leaned against the wooden railing before her, "I'll lend a hand when the time comes."

Then, as if on cue, the door opened, and in walked a small group of four. Two were a pair of familiar faces, and the other ones ... well ...

"Jean," Kaeya spared a glance to the small child standing behind him from over his shoulder, "I've brought them."

Jean visibly perked up and whirled around, Lisa following her gaze as well. But, to the two womens' surprise, in the place of where they expected a fully grown warrior to stand, they instead saw something else—something that made both of their stomachs fill up with dread.

"A child?"

"I know," Kaeya chuckled and walked over to Jean's desk before leaning against it and crossing his arms over his chest, "I was surprised, too."

Jean frowned, looking over to Lisa, who looked just as confused as she felt.

"You're the one who went up against Stormterror?" Jean asked, her brows furrowing once she took in just how small the child before her looked.

The Child only stared up at Jean for but a second before looking to Paimon, not knowing want to do. The floating girl giggled nervously at that, which in turn directed everyone's attention to her at the sound.

"S-sorry, but Piglet doesn't really talk much." The pixie-like girl smiled awkwardly and held her hands behind her back. "But, if you have any questions for them, then Paimon will gladly answer in their place!" she said, sounding optimistic.

"Oh ..." Jean shared a look with Lisa once again, "I see. Well, then, if that's the case ..."

The woman offered The Child and Paimon the most polite smile she could muster up with today's most ... recent revelations.

"Do you think you could tell us who you both are, exactly?"

─── ❖ ── ✦ ── ❖ ───

"... and after that, he brought us straight here!" Paimon clapped her her hands together and smiled.

Everyone turned their eyes to Jean, who seemed to be pondering over Paimon's explanation.

Silence layered over everyone for a moment, and amongst the quiet of the room, Jean lifted her gaze up from the floor to instead stare at the elephant in the room: The Child, and apparently the one who had managed to go up against Stormterror and return unscathed.

And yet, despite that, Jean still couldn't stop the churning in her stomach. The more she stared at The Child, the more she took in just how small they were. The robe that sat over their shoulders was far too big to carry, their hair was made up of messy, tangled knots that needed to be brushed out, and Jean wasn't sure whether or not she should mention the fact that The Child practically reeked of blood; the metallic scent quickly catching Jean's nose the moment the small youth had stepped into the room.

The woman frowned, sending a subtle glance over to Kaeya for at least some sort of explanation. But when the captain had looked back at her and met her eyes, she knew:

This child was nothing short of a mystery.

(Although, maybe Jean should have guessed that based on The Child's appearance alone, considering the fact that she—nor anyone else she knew—had never actually seen anyone like them before.)

"Um ..." It wasn't until Paimon's voice caught Jean's ears that the Grand Master finally returned to reality. "Is something the matter?"

"Huh?" Jean blinked, going over Paimon's question in her head for but a mere moment before going wide-eyed and sending the pixie-like girl and her pig-hybrid companion a nervous smile. "Oh, no, I'm sorry—I must have just gotten lost in thought."

Clearing her throat, Jean did her best to return to her usual composure before speaking once more. "Mondstadt welcomes you, windborne travelers," she began. "I am Jean, Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. This is Lisa," she gestured over to the brunette standing beside her, "our resident Librarian."

With the attention now being directed towards her, Lisa smiled gently and placed a hand over her chest. "Oh, are you sweeties here to help us out?" she asked.

The Child shifted awkwardly where they stood. This 'Lisa' person was giving them that same, weird ... soft look that Amber gave them alot. They weren't sure what to think of it exactly, but they did know that it made them feel ... warm, for whatever reason.

Lisa chuckled. "Oh, you're both so adorable!" she stated, only for a disappointed sigh to leave her lips soon afterwards. "Sadly, the timing is regrettable ... Stormterror has caused quite a ruckus in the region since its recent resurgence. Simply put, Mondstadt's elemental sphere and lay lines are now akin to a yarn ball in the paws of a kitten," she explained. "For a mage, it couldn't get much worse." She sighed and placed a hand against her forehead tiredly. "My skin is one elemental particle away from a full-blown breakout."

"I ... not know what that means," The Child finally decided to say, earning a surprised look from the two women, who then looked to Paimon in hopes that she would evaluate.

"What?" The small girl huffed and narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. "Just because Paimon said that they don't talk much doesn't mean that they don't talk in general! Their ... vocabulary is just limited. For now. Paimon plans on teaching them more later on, though!"

A moment of silence.

And then, Jean sighed. "If it weren't for this ... interference ..." she glanced over to The Child and Paimon, "then the Knights of Favonius would have been able to help the two of you out more with your ... current situation." Sighing again, the woman shook her head before finally locking gazes with the two travelers once more. "I promise you, as the Knights of Favonius's Acting Grand Master, I will do everything in my power to get you everything you'll need when this is all over," she said, sounding determined.

Yet, despite the woman's determination, both The Child and Paimon couldn't help but share confused looks with eachother.

'Everything you'll need'? The Child wondered. What that mean?

"For now, however ..." Jean turned to the rest of the knights in the room, urging them to speak up.

"We need a plan," Kaeya stated, as if that weren't obvious enough.

Still, though, Jean nodded in agreement. "With Stormterror now directly attacking Mondstadt, we may have an opportunity to cut the problem off at the source," she told. "Lisa has revealed the sources of Stormterror's power with her detection magic," she added, looking over to the mage in question.

Kaeya looked over to the librarian as well, wanting confirmation. "Is that so?"

Lisa smiled, nodding as she began to speak up. "They're located in the abandoned Four Winds' Temples," she began. "Stormterror's ability to whip up these kinds of storms can be attributed to it drawing power from the temples."

"Our objective is to deal with three of the four temples," Jean cut in, her eyes sharpening with the authority in her voice. "I trust everyone understands why we are only dealing with three."

Paimon and The Child shared a look and seemed to hold a short, silent conversation together before shrugging their shoulders and returning their attention back to the conversing knights.

"Knights of Favonius, time is against us."

Everyone straightened at the Grand Master's familiar tone of voice, each of them nodding in understanding as she went on. 

"The storm is rampant. There is no point in maintaining a defensive position. We need to take initiative and act before the situation escalates." The blonde's own back straightened, and she held her hands behind her back in an authoritative manner as she looked out to her knights.

"Am I understood?" she asked.

In sync, everyone but the traveling companions in the room nodded. "Understood, Acting Grand Master!"

And with that, everyone left the room to go perform their given duties, quick to complete the task at hand.

Well, everyone but a certain duo, that is, with said duo watching in silence as all of the adults left out the door until—

"DID THEY JUST FORGET ABOUT US??"